Saturday, September 4, 2010

Arabic X-Files : RIP Hend El-Fassi

Late Hend

‘Hend El-Fassi has passed away’ a strange surprising news no one expected to find in the newspaper from two weeks , how and when were the two questions many Egyptians asked and I believe they would ask and speak more if we are not in the Holy month of Ramadan as Muslims should not speak bad about their dead.
Moroccan Hend Shams El-Din El-Fassi is the second wife of Prince Turki Ibn Abdel Aziz passed from two weeks ago in a 6 of October governorate hospital , we do not know the cause of death except that she suffered from undeclared illness some newspapers claimed she had from a year ago and that she did not die from a drug overdose officially unlike what her brother had claimed at first.

The funeral

Her funeral was quick but it was not in Morocco but rather in Madinat Nasr where she was buried at the El-Fassi cemetery where her father Sheikh Shams El-Din El-Fassi is buried besides his Mercedes !! "Yes he is the owner of that Mercedes which many ask about when they visit the cemeteries"
Hend was from the early socialites in the Mubarak era , a Gulf royalty socialite to be accurate who lived along with her clan in hotels in Egypt surrounded by a 3rd degree entourage from singers and actors and sometimes 1st degree in some point in life. 1
El-Fassi passed away in a very quiet way that did not fit her loud life that usually occupied full tabloids and crime pages aside of her paid philanthropy advertorial but as we say in Egypt “The flute player dies and his finger still plays” , we found hours right after her quiet and quick burial a tabloid circus that did not last too long thanks to the Saudi diplomatic efforts to put an end for a pain in their royal butt called “Hend El-Fassi” or rather “The El-Fassis”
Her brother Allal El Fassi2 accused his brother in law Prince Turki of killing his sister with a drug overdose escalating the matter officially with a report to the general attorney then disappearing 24 hours and reappearing after the toxics report showed nothing wrong in her system to withdraw all his accusations to his brother in law , did not I tell you it was a mini circus !!?? Of course I forgot to mention that his lawyer accused the Saudi intelligence of kidnapping him to the the kingdom , it was a real mini circus in Ramadan.

Hend and Turki

When you write about Hend El-Fassi , you do not know from where you are going to start especially she was a tabloid socialite queen just like Lucy Artian ; too many swamps , too many legal problems, too many abuse incidents , too many scandals , too many urban legends and too many questions. Yes too many questions we need to ask about the El-Fassis and El-Turkis in order to understand who they are ; we forget to ask these questions when we open their black records when it comes to their constant abuse to their Egyptian and foreign employees , when they are kicked out of Ramses Hilton after decades of occupying the Upper floors lightened by these green lights if you remember them , when they leashed their dogs that harm children in Dreamland Mövenpick and when they describe their Egyptian hosts as animals.

All what we know is that Prince Turki really loved his late wife to the level of sacrificing his position in Saudi Arabia and moving from the kingdom in to a self exile when he refused to divorce her in late 1970s. Their love story allegedly started when her father Sheikh El-Fassi was arrested for leading a Sufi movement3 in the Kingdom and she asked Turki’s involvement for his release. Turki married the Moroccan girl who allegedly was born in Jeddah against his family when he was holding an important position in the ministry of defense there , he sacrificed not only that position but rather the Saudi throne itself ; if that was not love , what you can call then !!?? Prince Turki and his wife came to Egypt in 1980 and never returned back to Saudi Arabia.
Their names since then have become associated with scandals and notorious nights in Cairo where El-Fassis seemed to be winning a bad regional reputation reaching to London where their scandals are well known to the Arab community there.

Hend in 1980s

This is what semi-officially well known , I once heard another story involving a scandal of some sort but I can’t remember it. Late Hend claimed that she left Saudi Arabia because the royal family could not tolerate a liberal woman like her , of course she was trying to jump over the women’s rights wagon in the kingdom.
The relation between Turki and Hend was interesting on many levels and people were amazed on how he kept her as his wife all these years despite her scandals , it was not a strange thing to hear from some people that she enchanted him with some sort of Moroccan magic !!
Anyhow here are couple of questions I ask those who know anything about the El-Fassis and El-Turkis

Hend and her family

Why do the Turkis insists on living in hotels while they got enough money to live in Palaces in Egypt like the kings !!??
From all the countries in the world or to be accurate the Arab world why they chose Egypt to be their exile !!?? They could live in Morocco where the Fassis are from and also abuse the Moroccans and get away with it. I will not say Europe because knowing the record of both the El-Turkis and El-Fassis , I would say they love a country where they are above the law and the citizens and what country gives its distinguish guests from the size of El-Turkis this treatment except Egypt !!??
Why was not she buried in Morocco !? Are the El-Fassi exiled from their own country too !!?? They are members of the famous Allal Al –Fassi clan as far as I understand that is widely respect there !?
What are the relations of El-Fassis with the regimes in Syria and Tunisia not to mention in Libya !!??
Hend El-Fassi is an Arabic X-File more than an Egyptian X-File whose leading lady is an Arab, that Arabic X-File may have been closed but the X-files of the rest of her clan are still open.
May Allah bless your soul Hend El-Fassi in the end , you left an uneasy legacy.

Notes
1. The late princess for the record and her clan are not standard faces in the late Egyptian A Class social events organized by GanZ for instance. In fact she seemed that she lost her aurora in the past few years. 2. Allal El Fassi has own scandals and legal troubles just like his sister. 3. There are many question marks about that Sufi movement which some describe as a cult.

20 comments
:

Z, we are not supposed to talk bad about the dead in general and this is a moral before being a religious manner and I do believe its shared by ppl of different religious views. I so wish we stop this attitude that just bec its Ramadan we dnt behave in a certain way. Sure, Ramadan is a time when a person is put face to face with his/her shortcomings and works on making them disappear through out his/her life not only for the 30 days. I like this blog to the extent that I wished to meet you in person one day and discuss things. I was hoping you will stay away from this news. Its useless, the woman has passed away and only deserves our prayers and there is no need to discuss how she died since officially there is nothing to signal foul play. As for the claim made by some of her family members, well who knows the real reasons behind such claims. I hope you reconsider this post.

This was an interesting article having had the experience of meeting this couple while they resided in a US hotel. I have a beef with one of the commenters. While it is not ok to speak of the dead during ramadan in a nasty way, that should extend to all people and not just muslims. The US is as you said islamophobe due to the way we are treated differently, as acceptions to your rules. I think all people including those you fought on a certain October 6th should be shown respect. If you could be kind in your assessment of all people and let the perceptions of the past go, the world would love to make your acquaintance.

May her soul rest in peace. I am a South African that worked for the Prince and the Princess. I was treated very well by both. The Prince treated us like his children. The Princess even paid for my fathers funeral when he passed away.

For those of us who worked under her rein we too have asked why the Prince remained with her. Prince Turki was pleasant and magnanimous and she was a self serving witch, bitter to the end. I can say with almost certainty that in the later years, her slew of doctors kept the Prince medicated and bed ridden and perhaps that is the answer. I've never been one to speak so ill of a person, but may she rot.

I also worked for the Prince and in my time there the Prince was a recluse alcoholic and the Princes an overbearing spoiled bitch and I witnessed firsthand the Prince smacking her for her beligerent , domineering attitude.

I have worked for the princess and the Al-Fassi. I have met most of them in the U.S. To me she always was respectful and courteous. I cannot say the same of her Brother. But one thing for sure. I thank God for making me work for them. At the end, All I can say is ... Now I am a better person because of it. I wish them well, and I hope they change. It is never too late.

I am a Canadian who worked for the family in Egypt. The Prince was a kind and gentle man to those who worked for him. Unfortunately he had no idea of the behind the scenes activity of Princess Hend.She on the other hand was a malipulative individual who instilled terror on those who did not obey her every word. Although I am appreciative of the experience it offered, I truly am sorry to those who I could not help under her reign.

HRH Prince Turki and Hend has a younger son Prince Ahmed,which has not been mentioned in all the tabloids, Im wondering why?? This young child grew up in Ramses Hotel in Cairo. Think he deserves a mention. My husband and I lived on same floor with this child for 10 yrs. Husband was his body guard all this time.Would like to see his name at least..........

I have nothing but good things to say of Amira Hend El Fassi... She was a vibrent women living in a closed world, she was open minded, progressive and tough... I knew her as "71" while I worked for her from 2000 to 2002. The best times of my life were with the El Saud and El Fassi family's... I hope only for peace for the rest of her family and friends who are touched by her loss... Even women in the western world would tremble and admire her for her strong will and zest for life... BB...

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